- 20.04.2026
- Installation - Windows Server
Active Directory Installation: A Step-by-Step Guide
Microsoft Active Directory is one of the most popular solutions for the centralised management of users, computers and resources in corporate networks. In this article, we will walk you through the installation of Active Directory on Windows Server from start to finish.
1. Pre-installation Notes
When electing the edition during the Windows Server installation, you must choose the Desktop Experience edition. This edition simplifies management with graphical interface support.
In the initial stages of the installation, you will be prompted to enter a password for the Administrator account. For the purposes of this guide, I will use a simple password as an example. However, in real-world business environments, you must choose a secure, complex password that you will not forget.
Important: Wherever you are, always keep your user details in a safe place.
2. Initial Post-Installation Settings
Before installing the Active Directory services, we need to configure some basic settings:
Renaming the server
Setting a static IP address
Renaming the Server
You can give the server any name you like. I will use the name ‘barodc’ as an example.
Note: You must not use Turkish characters.
Setting a Static IP Address
My server has been assigned the address 192.168.254.128 via DHCP. You should also select a static IP address that is suitable for your setup and separate from the DHCP pool.
Note: Always use a static IP address when selecting an IP address for servers.
Once these two steps have been completed, we restart the server.
3. Installing Active Directory Services
Now that our preliminary preparations are complete, we can proceed with the Active Directory installation.
Open the Server Manager application.
Click on Manage → Add Roles and Features in the top-right corner.
- On the Installation Type screen, ‘Role-based or feature-based installation’ will be selected by default → Next.
- In the Server Roles section, tick the Active Directory Domain Services box.
- In the window that opens, click the Add Features button (the necessary additional services will be selected automatically).
- On the confirmation screen, tick the ‘Restart the destination server automatically if required’ box at the top and click the ‘Install’ button.
- Once the installation is complete, click Close to exit.
4. Promoting the Server to a Domain Controller
Once the role has been installed, we need to promote the server to a Domain Controller.
In Server Manager, you will see a yellow exclamation mark on the flag icon in the top-right corner. Click on the ‘Promote this server to a domain controller’ option.
On the Deployment Configuration screen, tick the ‘Add a new forest’ option.
Enter your domain name in the ‘Root domain name’ field. (e.g. baro.local)
- On the Domain Controller Options screen, set a password for DSRM only.
This password is very important. Choose a strong password and be sure to keep it in a safe place.
You can proceed through the DNS Options screen using the default settings.
Complete the remaining steps by clicking Next → Install.
Once the installation is complete, the server will restart.
5. Conclusion
Your server is now operating as a Domain Controller and your Active Directory environment is ready. From here on:
You can join client computers to the domain,
create user accounts and groups,
and centrally manage security and configuration settings using Group Policy.
In this article, we have covered the basic setup steps. In future blog posts, we will also address advanced topics such as Group Policy management and Active Directory replication.